PLDT in search of buyer for Meralco stake

PLDT Inc. on Tuesday announced plans to divest its remaining 8.74-percent stake in Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) by the first half of 2017.

"We're now in discussion with a number of interested buyers," PLDT Chairman and CEO Manuel V. Pangilinan said in a briefing in Makati City.

Prospective buyers include foreign and domestic companies.

PLDT owns a 25-percent stake in Beacon Electric Asset Holdings Inc., after selling 25-percent to Metro Pacific Investments Corp. Beacon, in turn, owns 35 percent of Meralco.

The transaction would likely happen in 2017, with a single buyer, Pangilinan said, noting that several companies may also form a consortium for the transaction.

"The timetable for disposal not this year, most likely first half of 2017," he said.

Pangilinan said PLDT may reap somewhere "north of P26.2 billion" from the share sale.

The proceeds from the deal would be used to pare down PLDT’s debts and to partly pay for capital spending, he noted.

PLDT sold part of its stake in Meralco to Metro Pacific in May to finance the acquisition of the telco assets of San Miguel Corp. — VDS, GMA News